ておく — Do in Advance / Leave as Is
Indicates doing something as preparation for a future event, or intentionally leaving a situation in its current state.
Structure
[Verb te-form] + おく
Examples
旅行前にホテルを予約しておいた。
Ryokou mae ni hoteru o yoyaku shite oita.
I booked the hotel in advance before the trip.
予約して + おいた = booked ahead (for later use)
ドアを開けておいてください。
Doa o akete oite kudasai.
Please leave the door open.
開けて + おいて = leave it in the open state (on purpose)
友達が来る前に、部屋を掃除しておきます。
Tomodachi ga kuru mae ni, heya o souji shite okimasu.
I'll clean my room in advance before my friend comes.
掃除して + おきます = clean ahead of time (as preparation)
• Casual contraction: ておく → とく; ておいた → といた (very common in speech). • Preparation sense: 予約しておく (reserve in advance). • Leave-as-is sense: 開けておく (leave open on purpose).
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones ておく is tested against.
vs てある
ておく is the ACTION of preparing/leaving something (予約しておく = I'll book it ahead). てある is the resulting STATE (予約してある = it has been booked).
vs てしまう
ておく = do it deliberately for future benefit; てしまう = complete an action, often accidentally or regretfully — different intent.
More verb forms
- てくる — Come Doing / Has Been Doing (Toward Now)
- てみる — Try Doing (and See)
- Potential Form — Can / Be Able To (Verbs)
- がる／がっている — Describing Others' Feelings
- 〜出す (だす) — Abrupt Eruptions
- 〜始める (はじめる) — Intentional Beginnings
- 意向形 (いこうけい) — Volitional Form (Let's / I'll)
- くする / にする — Make something become (a quality)
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